How to use a food dehydrator

Before you make the decision about buying a food dehydrator, you have to find out what a food dehydrator is in the first place. A food dehydrator is a machine that uses a fan at a low temperature to remove the water from the food. The dehydrator usually removes the moisture and water from the food without removing any of the enzymes from the meat you are trying to cook.

Dehydrated foods have a really different taste. They are not incredibly easy to cook, or to digest, but it does taste quite good. It is gluten free, and quite healthy as well. If you are trying to switch to raw food, it would be quite beneficial for you to try dehydrated food first. You will be able to cook dehydrated meat in the best possible way and make it resemble almost all other types of food that you usually eat.

What can you use it for?

We already mentioned why you could dehydrate meat, as a step towards opting for raw meat instead. In case you have an abundant supply of fresh food, or you have surplus food, it would be beneficial for you to dehydrate this food and store it for quite a while. The method you use to dehydrate the meat and the amount of time you have to spend on it would depend on how watery your meat and produce is. You will be able to use the meat and vegetables that you have just dehydrated as really good snacks. You will be able to use them in soups, in sauces or as salads as well.

There are a lot of recipes that you will be able to cook with the help of a food dehydrator. You will be able to find a lot of recipes online too. Food dehydrators are certainly one of the most under appreciated and unacknowledged kitchen appliances. Even the process of dehydrating one’s food is interesting. You will be able to turn all your vegetables and meat into edible, delicious snacks.

The process

The process of dehydrating vegetables and meat is rather simple. The dehydrator acts as a low temperature oven. There is a fan that distributes the hot air among the food, so that all the moisture can evaporate with ease. The only thing you have to do is put the food on the trays, set the right temperature and time and you are ready.

The amount of time you would have to keep the food in the dehydrator would depend on the amount of food you have to dehydrate and also the amount of moisture in it. You should read the manual that comes with the dehydrator- chances are that it comes with detailed instructions on dehydrating specific foods.

Follow the easy steps:

These are the easy steps that you have to follow in order to get some really tasty, dehydrated food in no time at all.

1. Take the fruits, vegetables or meat that you want to dehydrate and cut them in the desirable shape and size. Cutting the food would allow for easier evaporation. Once you have sliced the food, place them on the dehydrator tray. Make sure they are not touching.

2. Set the right temperature. Since some foods dehydrate faster than other foods, it is necessary for you to find the right temperature at which to set the machine. For the same reason, it is recommended that you don’t put slices of different vegetables and slices right next to each other. Mostly, in order for the food to get completely dried out and still stay raw, the ideal temperature is 104 degree F. If you are not concerned about your food being raw, you can set the temperature as high as 135 degree F. This will shorten the amount of time you have to leave the food in the dehydrator.

3. Make sure that you keep a close look on the food that is being dried. Dehydrating some fruits and vegetables can take anything between 2 to 20 hours, depending on the kind of fruit that you are drying. The outside temperature, the amount of humidity in the air, etc. can also determine the amount of time it takes to dehydrate the food. Keep checking on the food to check if it is done. To check for doneness, you would have to cut a slice of the food. If no moisture beads appear on the food when you cut through it, it has been completely dried out.

4. Once it is completely dry, store the dried and dehydrated food in an airtight container where it will not be exposed to any moisture. The food is now ready to cook. In case you feel that the leftovers have been left in the container for too long and they have lost their crispiness, you should put them back in the dehydrator for around 1 to 2 hours, till they regain the crispness.

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